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VPAP Index: Methodology

How the VPAP Index is Calculated

The VPAP District Index applies a partisan score to all 140 of Virginia’s legislative districts based on how far they deviated from the statewide average in the most recent Presidential and Gubernatorial elections. The formula is as follows:

For the most recent Presidential election, take the percentage of Republican votes in the district and subtract the percentage of Democratic votes in the district to get the “presidential district spread”

For the most recent Gubernatorial election, take the percentage of Republican votes in the district and subtract the percentage of Democratic votes in the district to get the “gubernatorial district spread”

Now add the “presidential district spread” and the “gubernatorial district spread” and divide by two to get the “average district spread”

For the most recent Presidential election, take the percentage of Republican votes in the state and subtract the percentage of Democratic votes in the state to get the “presidential statewide spread”

For the most recent Gubernatorial election, take the percentage of Republican votes in the state and subtract the percentage of Democratic votes in the state to get the “gubernatorial statewide spread”

Now add the “presidential statewide spread” and the “statewide district spread” and divide by two to get the “average statewide spread”

Lastly, subtract the “average statewide spread” from the “average district spread” to get the VPAP District Index. A negative number indicates the district is Democratic leaning and are assigned a Democratic score based on the absolute value of the result.

Note: Calculated percentages per district include in-person voting on election day only.